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Endorses Rooks

The race

Peoria Unified School District voters elect two members to four-year terms on November 3, 2026. Vote for up to two. Both incumbents are running against one challenger, in a district still working through the fallout of the Centennial High School scandal — an investigation into two former teachers accused of inappropriate relationships with the same student — which divided the board over how the district handled it, as reported by The Arizona Republic.

The certified roster is: Melissa Ewing (incumbent), Heather Rooks (incumbent), and Desiree Byrne. The district also asks voters to approve a 13% maintenance and operations override (Proposition 428) and a site sale (Proposition 429), covered in our measure coverage.

The candidates

Heather Rooks (incumbent). Rooks was first elected in 2022, is a lifelong Peoria resident with children in the district, and is endorsed by Turning Point Action, as reported by The Arizona Republic. She is outspoken in opposing diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and presented an anti-DEI policy on the board. In 2023 she sued her own district after being advised to stop quoting the Bible during board meetings. In 2024 a transgender former teacher sued her over allegations of gender discrimination. In 2026 she was removed as board president after speaking out to criticize the district's handling of the Centennial sexual misconduct case — she had pressed for an independent investigation, and the board voted in April 2026 to table that request while investigations continued, per Republic and district reporting.

Pros: A proven, priced record: elected on parental-rights ground, she has actually fought the fights — against DEI programming, for her own religious expression at the dais, and for an independent investigation when teachers were accused of abusing a student. Turning Point Action's endorsement is a named, checkable fact. Cons: The fights have costs that are also facts: litigation against and by her, and colleagues who removed her from the presidency in 2026. Voters are choosing a governing style as much as a platform, and hers is confrontation.

Melissa Ewing (incumbent). Ewing was first elected in 2022 and has two children who attended district schools, as reported by The Arizona Republic. She has sometimes been the odd one out on board votes, including when Rooks presented her anti-DEI policy. Her campaign website lists priorities of strengthening community literacy and career and technical education programs and increasing transparency in the budget process. She voted with the board majority to self-report a possible open-meeting-law issue and to remove Rooks as president, per district reporting.

Pros: A published platform of literacy, career and technical education and budget transparency, and a record of independence from both board factions at different moments. Cons: The odd-one-out record cuts both ways: on the sourced votes here, she stood against the anti-DEI policy and for the process moves against Rooks — voters who want the district's direction changed will not find that change in her record.

Desiree Byrne. Byrne is also endorsed by Turning Point Action, is married to an educator and has two children who have attended Peoria Unified, as reported by The Arizona Republic. Her website states she is focused on the needs of administrators and classroom staff who are given too little support for their workload. Her published priorities: limiting technology in K-8 classrooms, expanding career and technical education partnerships and addressing neglected school facilities.

Pros: A named Turning Point Action endorsement and a concrete published platform — less classroom technology for young students, more career and technical education, facilities addressed — that pairs with Rooks's record as a slate. Cons: Unproven in elected office; her platform is a promise, not yet a record.

OUR CALL

Our call: Vote for up to two — we endorse Heather Rooks and Desiree Byrne. The basis for Rooks is proven in service: she opposed DEI programming in policy, not just in posts, defended religious expression at the board table in court, and demanded an independent investigation into teachers accused of abusing a student when her own board preferred to wait — and she carries Turning Point Action's endorsement. The basis for Byrne is her published platform — technology limits in K-8, career and technical education partnerships, neglected facilities — carrying the same named endorsement and running as the change slate's second seat. Ewing is a credible incumbent with a real platform; her sourced votes point the district the other direction, and we say so plainly rather than pretend otherwise.

For the complete Election 2026 breakdown — every race, claim by claim — see the full coverage on our website.

Vote early. Research your candidates. Choose the best moderates, whatever their party — no extremism from either side. And encourage your friends and family to do the same.

Sources

Election result — November 4, 2026

Result pending. No verified call (Associated Press or official) as of November 4, 2026. This page will be updated when the race is called or certified. The original article above is unchanged.

AI-assisted article — but the sources are human, and the facts are very real.

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